AEROMONAS (hole in the side disease)
This disease is a severe gram-negative bacterial infection that
starts out as small red spots, and soon develops into large
ulceration's that eat their way through the fish until a large hole
develops. As the severity increases and the fish's immune system is
being destroyed, multiple symptoms will start to appear. One of the
diseases that is caused by Aeromonas bacteria is: Bacterial
Hemorrhagic Septicemia (red streaking in fins and body, swelling,
bloat, loss of scales, skin eaten away, abscessed ulceration's etc.)
There are 16 different forms of Aeromonas. Including viral
strains of Aeromonas that cannot be cured with the medications we
have today.
We like to use a combination of Oxolinic Acid mixed into
the feed, and Potassium Permanganate in the water to prevent
a secondary fungal infection from developing on the
ulceration's. Many people cure the Aeromonas infection with
the Oxolinic Acid and then find after the completion of the
treatment, the sores are still open and red. This is due to
saprolegnia fungus that has invaded the ulceration's and is
acting like a parasite, eating away at the sores. This is
why it is important to use an anti-fungal medication in the
water along with the Oxolinic Acid in the feed. We like the
Potassium Permanganate best, but you can use Malachite Green
or Forma-Green in the water instead.
If you can separate the infected fish early on and treat them in
isolation tanks, you can prevent your whole pond from being infected
in most cases. I like to bump up the temperature in the isolation
tanks to 82-84° when possible. This will speed up the treatment. We
have cured some severe cases of Aeromonas in two weeks with this
method. Raising the temperature up to 86°F
will also kill the SVC and KHV viruses.
TREATMENT
OXOLINIC ACID
DOSAGE: 2 teaspoons of Oxolinic Acid Powder for every 1 pound of
koi pellets. Mix the medication with approximately 2 ounces of
water. Add this to a spray bottle, and spray the entire contents
over the feed. Let air dry. Note: It is important that you do not
use any heat element to dry the feed because it will destroy the
medication. Use a fan to expedite the drying process if necessary.
Feed the medicated feed to the fish once a day for two weeks. Do not
feed any other food except for the medicated food during treatment
time. You do not need oil or gelatin to get the medication to stick
to the food. This is a waste of time, and it pollutes the water.
POTASSIUM PERMANGANATE
Before you use the Potassium Permanganate, you will need to make
a stock solution out of it. To do this: Use 22.8 grams of the
crystals to 12oz. of distilled water. Then use 6 drops per
gallon=5ppm. If you have a very large pond use 19 grams of crystals
per 1000 gallons of water. Put some pond water in a 5 gallon bucket
and mix in the crystals, then spot treat around the pond. When the
water goes from purple to brown, the Potassium Permanganate is
oxidized and needs to be replaced. A large water change is required
before re-treating. We also recommend that if you have a very large
pond that is infected, drain the water down substantially to save
yourself the cost of the medication, and allot of work doing major
water changes.
Also, remember to sterilize all of your pond equipment with
bleach to prevent spreading the disease to any other tanks or ponds.
It is also important to obtain a gram scale (diet scale) which can
be found at most local retail stores for about $7.00. These
medications need to be accurately measured out for effectiveness and
to prevent over treating the pond.
Sometimes cases of Aeromonas are so severe that no treatment can
reverse the damage done by the bacteria. In these cases I suggest
that you remove the infected specimens and give them a humane
solution to their suffering by putting them in a bag of water, and
then put them in the freezer. We have had customers call us and say
that they see bones sticking out of the fish. This is an example of
a fish that cannot be saved.
Thank You and Good Luck,
Dr. Gary Aukes; Pharm D, and the staff of National Fish
Pharmaceuticals.
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